Gone are the days when an applicant would be employed after one face-to-face interview with management and HR. Employers now typically put candidates through multiple layers of assessment before deciding whether or not they will be taken on. Hiring people takes a lot of resources, and the reason for this increase in assessment is largely to do with financial risk.
The US Department of Labor estimates that a bad hire can cost a company the equivalent of 30 percent of that employee’s projected yearly earnings. Bad hires work less efficiently, less rigorously, and require more support.
With that in mind, this article lists some of the most common pre-employment assessments that companies use to select the finest talent available to them.
Cognitive Ability Tests
Cognitive ability tests are a kind of psychometric assessment designed to test an applicant’s ability to solve problems using logic and reasoning. The ability of an employee to harness logic is very important in many roles. Cognitive ability tests assess the following areas of reasoning:
Verbal
Applicants are usually asked to read a statement and answer simple questions regarding content. This is to test their ability to understand and critically engage with written content.
Numerical
Math and statistics questions assess an applicant’s ability to use logic in dealing with numerical problems.
Abstract
Applicants are tested on their ability to work out abstracted concepts and apply them to problems.
Spatial
Applicants are tested for special reasoning qualities – usually assessed through visual puzzles.
Personality And Culture Fit
Choosing the right candidate for a job is about personality and ethics as much as it is about skills and experience. A person that cannot relate to your team will have a hard time fitting in. In order to gauge the personality of a candidate, many employers require them to fill out personality and culture fit assessments. These usually take the form of a series of statements, which the prospective candidate is asked to rank. Using their answers, an examiner or computer program can produce a ‘profile’ of the candidate’s personality traits. HR and management then have the task of assessing whether the personality traits of the candidate fit in with the intended atmosphere of the company.
Situational Judgment
Situational judgment assessments test a candidate’s ability to deal with the kind of real-world situation they will likely have to face as part of their prospective job. This kind of assessment often involves roleplay exercises or teamwork activities. Situational judgment is extremely important in a brand-new employee, and this kind of test is taken very seriously.
Physical Fitness And Health
For jobs with a physical aspect, fitness and health tests may be performed before a contract is offered. Pre-work medical testing is usually very basic and involves eyesight, strength, and blood pressure assessments. Fitness tests vary hugely from job to job. Fire service workers, for instance, usually have to go through rigorous fitness tests. Railway workers take only the most rudimentary fitness test before being allowed to work with heavy objects.
